Springfield police shooting suspect Tamik Kirkland might have been helped in his escape from the minimum-security prison in Shirley with the use of a cell phone provided by an employee of a prison vendor, according to a Massachusetts Department of Correction report.

BOSTON – Murder suspect Tamik Kirkland, of Springfield, was helped in his prison escape by a cell phone that may have been provided by an employee of a state prison vendor who is alleged to have had an “inappropriate and intimate relationship” with Kirkland, said a new report on his escape by the state Department of Correction.

While free Kirkland returned to Springfield, where police said he killed one man, wounded another and shot two law enforcement officers who were saved from serious injuries by their protective vests.

Kirkland was attempting to avenge the shooting three days earlier of his mother, who, in turn, had been wounded in retaliation for his earlier actions, the report said.

The allegations about the relationship between Kirkland and the vendor employee are being investigated and the worker has been banned from all facilities of the corrections department, the report said. If the allegations are substantiated, they could be referred to the district attorney for criminal prosecution, the report said, without identifying the vendor or employee.

Luis S. Spencer, acting commissioner of the state Department of Correction, declined further comment on the relationship between Kirkland and the vendor’s employee.

Spencer said one correctional officer has been suspended with pay and a supervisor is facing discipline for breaking procedures during an overnight check of Kirkland, who fashioned a dummy from inmate clothing to make it look like he was sleeping in his dorm and then escaped via a third floor window onto a fire escape from the minimum-security prison in Shirley on April 25, shortly after midnight on April 24. The dummy was not found until about 7 the next morning, the report said.

“If the officer had followed policies and procedures, this incident might have been prevented,” Spencer said. “We don’t see any issue with our policies and procedures.”

Spencer said Kirkland may have used the cell phone to arrange to be transported by someone after his escape. Inmates are banned from possessing cell phones, he said.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said it was “extremely troubling” that the vendor’s employee may have provided the cell phone to Kirkland. Mastroianni said it may have been an isolated incident, but it does raise questions about security at prisons.

Mastroianni said the escape and subsequent murder and shootings were “a very traumatic event” for the county and the Mason Square section of Springfield.

“It’s not just going to go away,” he said.

The report found that Kirkland’s escape stemmed from staff procedural errors and staff misconduct, not a failure of the system. No changes in department policies or procedures are required, the report said.

The report also said that a correctional officer violated department policies and procedures during checks of inmates over the night and he has been “detached” pending an administrative hearing. The department is ready to terminate the officer pending the results of the hearing, the report said.

A supervisor also failed to observe and document one hourly census count by correctional officers, the report said. The supervisor failed to ensure that staff were observing “living, breathing flesh” during the checks, the report said. Based on the conclusions of an administrative hearing, the department is prepared to discipline the supervisor, the report said.

There are two major counts of inmates on the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift at Shirley, one at 11:30 p.m. and one at 3 a.m. the report said. There are also hourly counts by the housing unit officer.

Kirkland is alleged to have killed Sheldon Innocent, 24, of Wilbraham, a husband and father, at a Springfield barbershop on April 30, nearly a week after he escaped from the prison on the Shirley-Lancaster line. A barber was seriously wounded. Authorities have characterized both victims as blameless.

Moments later, Kirkland, an alleged gang member, was involved in a shoot-out with police at Cambridge and Burr streets. He was shot six times and critically injured. Two officers were shot, but saved by their protective vests.

Kirkland escaped from MCI-Shirley three days after the April 22 shooting of his mother in Springfield and was attempting to avenge her, according to the report. Prison officials said they did not know that his mother was shot until he escaped.

Mastroianni said on Wednesday that Kirkland may have been targeting the barber, believing he may be related to someone involved in the attack on his mother. No arrest has been made in the shooting.

The mother told authorities that she had last spoken to her son on April 23 when she was in the hospital being treated for a gunshot wound, the report said. Kirkland’s mother was shot as retaliation for the actions of Kirkland prior to his incarceration, according to information developed during the interview process at the Shirley prison, the report said.

Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet declined to comment on the report, saying he had not had a chance to read it in great detail. “They can do their own assessment of their own agency and then take whatever action they deem to be appropriate,” he said of the corrections department.

Separately, state police and Hampden County authorities are investigating whether state prison employees made anonymous phone calls, threatening to kill Kirkland while he was being held at a Springfield hospital, officials said last week.

Mastroianni is investigating the phone calls. The district attorney said that there was speculation that the calls were connected to an attempt to secure overtime wages and that he is not ruling that out as a motive.

Kirkland has been moved from the hospital. He has not been arraigned because of his medical condition.

Kirkland was imprisoned in November 2009 for 2.5 to 4 years for possessing a large capacity weapon without a permit.

The report painted a picture of practically a model inmate until his escape. He had no incidents or disciplinary infractions while being held for a year at the Hampden County Correctional Institute in Ludlow for a year while awaiting trial.

He adjusted well when he was transferred from a state prison in Walpole to one in Concord in January 2010, the report said. He took part in substance abuse treatment and remained free of disciplinary reports, the report said. He was transferred to Shirley in June and had an excellent adjustment, including participating in a very selective “green technologies” program. He had one minor disciplinary report for not standing for court, but he had recently been recommended by a committee for transfer to a pre-release center.

Since the escape, the department has added a second perimeter patrol to the prison site on all three shifts and officials have met with officers to reaffirm the proper methods for conducting counts of inmates. The department will direct a security team to conduct more targeted searches to locate and eliminate contraband, the report said.